League of Extraordinary G’z.
A legendary name for a legendary group. Comprised of C.O.D., Dred Skott and Southbound, three independent rap groups, this team is out to make a name not only for themselves, but the city they rep: Austin, TX. I got familiar with this crew at the A3C Music Festival in Atlanta, GA and was immediately caught off guard (in a good way) by their ability to engage the crowd, have a good time and most importantly…deliver good music. Their hometown serves as the location of the famed South by Southwest Festival every year. This familiar stomping ground has worked in the group’s favor, elevating them to the status they’re at today and beyond. In this Mixxclusive, we had the chance to chat with the self proclaimed ‘reality rapper’ collective about everything from their goals to that infamous lion mascot to losing one of their most cherished members, Esbe Da Bully.
LOEGz reminds me of the Wu Tang Clan. What made the three different groups want to merge into one?
It’s funny that you say that, because we’ve actually been branded as a cross between Goodie Mob and Wu Tang. For almost three years now, all three groups had performed at South by Southwest. We had decided that it would make sense for us to make a mixtape together… As time progressed, it kind of turned into an album. From that album, it became a family.
When most people think of Texas rappers, they automatically think of Houston, TX. Does Austin have a big hip-hop scene or are you the only ones?
We’re not the only ones. In the last year, we’ve seen just about every up and coming main stream rapper from Wiz Khalifa to Currensy to Big KRIT come through. We’ve met all of these people, so it’s definitely a tour spot that up and comers want to come to; not just South By South West, but the University of Texas, too. You name them, they came through. As far as home grown talent, there’s only been a handful that have actually been able to make it pass the city limits and we’re blessed to be in that group of people. It’s small, but it’s growing. There’s a lot of good MC’s, producers and graphic designers in Austin that are trying to get out of that bubble. The talent is there; it’s just looking for its identity. We find ourselves just supporting each other as rappers. I think we believe that the minute someone from Austin gets put on, that’s when everyone starts pouring in because now Austin has an identity…Most sub-major cities deal with the same thing.
Have you had the opportunity to open for any mainstream artists?
We’ve opened for so many different artists. You name it, we opened up for them. Wiz, Slim Thug, Tech Nine, David Banner, Yelawolf and a bunch of others. If there was a show worth being on in Austin, we would be on it.
You’ve traveled all over the country. What is your favorite place to perform?
We really love the west coast. The people have that good, happy vibe. The crowds are usually pretty receptive and the weed is fantastic (laughs).
You spend a lot of time on the road. Is touring the key to being a successful indie artist?
Yes. If you don’t have a song on the radio, nobody knows who the hell you are. If the blogs aren’t posting your music every time it drops, it’s real hard to stay relevant. But staying on the road, touching a room full of people every night.-That’s the best way to spread the music and spread the brand. Definitely for independent artists to stay relevant is to stay on the road.
You have a lion mascot that’s on stage during your shows. It reminds me of Kanye West’s Graduation Bear mascot. How did he become a part of LOEGZ shows?
(Laughs) One day we woke up and watched college football. When you watch football, you see the cheerleader and the mascot. We were watching the mascot and he was just acting buck wild. So we said, ‘You know what would be dope? …If we had a mascot!’ So there you go; now we have a mascot! Stage presence is something you leave your audience with; you gotta leave them with something so they remember what they saw. If there’s anything that’s going to refresh your mind, it’s a mascot on stage that’s acting buck wild. The idea behind the mascot is to leave a lasting impression. The person that wears the suit is actually the 9th member of the league. He’s a youngin’. He’s 17 yrs old. He’s basically our prodigy that’s paying his dues before he gets into the league. It’s always a topic point.
You recently lost a member, Esbe Da Bully . How has it affected you all personally and musically?
It’s brought us together even more so. He was the heart of the league. The one person that you always wanted to be around. He was a character. It’s devastating. It’s hard every day. He was the league. The goal hasn’t changed, but our purpose has. So for anyone that wants to see us succeed; we put everything into this. We have to make sure his legacy lives on. Even though he’s not here, he’s with us in spirit.
What is your ultimate goal as a group?
The ultimate goal is to let people know that number one: there’s talent here in Austin, TX. We want to take care of our families. We look at the league as the future of not just hip hop, but the youth. We’re all able to come together from different backgrounds, different races, different upbringings. Hip-hop brought us all together. It’s the main thing in our life. Because of that, I think it helps members of the group from going to jail or doing other things that might not have been positive. You see a lot of people trying to pit white rappers against black rappers or southern rappers against east coast rappers; young versus old. We kind of encompass all of that. This is a league. This really is a family. The goal is progression and positivity. We’d like the chance to help out other people and put other people on.
What’s next for LOEGZ?
It’s going to be a real busy six months. It’s by virtue of us living in Austin and SXSW being here that our musical year revolves around it. We also have a new project titled #leagueshit . We’re also working on our second album…not quite sure on when it’s coming out yet, but we’re working on it. And we’re made up of 3 different groups, so we each have our own projects coming. There’s gonna be a lot more music coming from the league. We have a video that we’re going to have shot by Motion Family. It’s gonna be super dope. There’s a tour that’s being routed right now before SXSW in the Midwest and the south. The goal for this upcoming year is to stay on the road touring, playing music festivals, jumping on bigger artists’ tours and staying out there as much as we are financially able to. We’re also releasing a mixtape with Swisha House in about another month and a half.
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